New Hampshire is weighing several options to fix problems in the state's prison system.

"Unfortunately, the conditions of prisons in New Hampshire is downright terrible," said Executive Councilor Chris Sununu.

One of the ideas being considered is allowing a private vendor to build and run two state prisons. Some said it could save the state money as it attempts to deal with an urgent problem.

"I think the more immediate need right now is the women's prison," said Corrections Commissioner William Wrenn. "I think the Concord (men's) facility could last for many years to come."

The women's prison in Goffstown is old and overcrowded. Four inmates recently sued, saying the building doesn't allow for the same programs as men get.

Some proposals have been put out to bid involving different scenarios. A contractor could be hired to build a women's prison and a men's prison or a facility for both using private money and then leasing it back to the state. Or the prisons could be built with private money and managed privately, which some said could be more efficient.

"They can make profit, a little profit, while being 10 times more efficient, possibly, than the system we have in place," Sununu said.

Four companies submitted bids, but only to build a men's prison or hybrid male-female facility. Critics said the women's prison bid was ignored because it's less profitable.

Several local groups are opposing any privatization, saying it leads to lower-paying jobs, less security and less rehabilitation, along with creating a business model to retain more inmates.

"If you build a profit incentive into locking people up, this puts a dynamic into the system which is contrary to what I think are the values that New Hampshire holds," said Arnie Alpert of the American Friends Service Committee.

Thirty states already use some private prisons. One study shows that the number of state inmates in private facilities grew 40 percent over the past decade.

Vermont is the only New England state that uses private prisons. About one-quarter of its inmates are shipped to other states, and the state said its daily corrections cost was cut in half.

Buddy Johns is president of CGL, one of the companies that want to build in New Hampshire. He said his company could build a prison for a lot less money than the state, because it has more resources.

"It's not really a matter of doing it better," Johns said. "It's just that we have more tools to accomplish it."

It's unknown how the state would use private contractors, but Johns said any profits come at the company's risk.

"It really comes down to how the state wants to manage each one of those components, how much they want to outsource and what are the risks the private sector is willing to adopt from the state in order to gain and have those profits," he said.

But many said privatization isn't the answer to the state's problems, especially on the management side.

A University of Utah study showed that "cost savings from privatizing prisons are not guaranteed and appear minimal … with publicly managed prisons delivering slightly better skills training and having slightly fewer inmate grievances."

Another study in Arizona showed that some private prisons cost $1,600 more per inmate each year than public facilities.

The various proposals of what each company has planned for New Hampshire have not been made public.

The state is waiting on a report from a consultant before deciding what to do. Gov. Maggie Hassan has said she is opposed to allowing a private company to run a prison, but leasing may still be a possibility. Hassan asked for $38 million in her budget request for the state to build a new women's prison.